Archive: Around Town

Cayuga Nature Center (CNC), brought home two new foxes just in time for the holiday season. The two females, originally ranch-raised, come from a rehabilitation shelter in Buffalo NY run by Elyse Able and have been cage mates since being relinquished from a petting zoo. Ms. Able planned to use them to care for orphaned baby kits, but these two independent females had no interest in being foster moms. Both foxes, a red head and a stunning silver haired -- a color only found in foxes bred for their coats -- are around six years old (considered middle aged for a fox). It seems that these two would prefer to spend the prime of their life enjoying their independence and have therefore moved to their new home at CNC.

CNC's Director of Outdoor Education, Cindy Rice, picked up the animals this week and brought them to their new digs at the Center. The pen, formerly home to longtime resident "Henna", who passed away in November, is a little cramped for two active, healthy foxes and the center would love to expand the size, to provide them with a larger playing area, but need funding to do so.

"These two foxes are very youthful and active and need a larger space to explore." said Ms. Rice. "Henna was an older fox and often hid from people. We are excited to have two playful foxes to show off to our visitors."

Keeping these two fed and healthy doesn't come cheap and can cost upwards of $ 1,000 per year each, including vet visits and vaccinations. The pair eats a diet of premium cat food and "the catch of the day", which might be a mouse or some other wild prey.

Anyone interested in contributing to the care and feeding of these new residents is encouraged to visit the Cayuga Nature Center website at http:\www.cayuganaturecenter.org and hit the "Get Involved" tab at the top of the page or, better yet, visit them in person and make a donation.

The foxes, currently on view in CNC's outdoor animal section, do not have names so CNC is holding a contest and asking for name submissions from now until January 8th.

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